Dog House Training - Retraining Your Mature Dog
by Michael
Filed under Older Dog House Training
Let’s face it, our dogs get old, just like we do and sometimes, when dogs get old, they begin to have “accidents” in the house. Your previous dog house training, may have to start over again as you may have to retrain your mature dog. It can feel as if you’re dealing with a puppy all over again, so it’s important to know how to tell if your dog is getting old or if there is something else going on. Often, dogs as young as five can be old, while other dogs stay young for much longer, so it can be difficult to tell if your pooch is suffering from old age or is just misbehaving when they are leaving you “presents” for you to clean up all over the house.
If your dog is having problems with going outside, the first thing you need to do is take her to the vet to determine if she is old or just irritated. When your mature dog winds up losing their dog house training skills, it can feel as if you’re going to have to housebreak her all over again, and you may, but there might be some other medical condition which your veterinarian can treat and your dog will go back to being her well trained self.
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It’s so important to have any conditions treated as soon as possible, though so that she doesn’t slide into the learned behavior that it’s okay to do her jobs on your living room floor. Often when your dog has diabetes or nephritis, she can begin to have “accidents” in your home. Also, the reason for the accidents could be as simple as a urinary tract infection, or parasites could be the cause. Because of these things, it’s not a good idea to assume that your dog needs to be re-housebroken.
You should also understand that when a dog is upset or unhappy, she may begin to back slide when it comes to her housebreaking. Maybe she’s upset because you’ve brought a baby or another animal into the house. Maybe you’ve gotten married or divorced. These are very upsetting for dogs and can often cause them to begin having issues with their dog house training.
It may be that if you have a male dog and your neighbor has a female that he begins to go in the house because the female next door is in heat. This is your dog marking his territory and although it’s frustrating, it’s also instinctive. Because of these issues, however, it’s important to make sure that you stop it as quickly as possible to ensure that your dog doesn’t get into the habit of bad behaviors. It may be time to re-housebreak your dog so that you can get back to a clean, mess free home.
When you are working to re-housetrain your grown dog, it’s important to make sure that there are no physical conditions that will make doing this impossible. Work with your vet to make sure your dog is healthy and then do what you can to make sure the accidents no longer happen. In the mean time, use a cleaner that effectively removes odors, but avoid ammonia, as this can be a “safe” spot to go by your dog.
Having To Re-Housetrain Your Older Dog
by Michael
Filed under Older Dog House Training
You may be surprised when your adult dog suddenly behaves like a puppy and makes a mess in the house and you feel like you are having to redo all your dog house training. The disbelief is made fact when you actually witness the act, followed by the slam of the back door, as the old family pet is quickly banished out-of-doors like a nine-week old puppy that had just had an accident. Such harsh and fast action in such an instance can have serious and detrimental effects on the older dog. Whenever a completely housebroken dog starts urinating in the house, there is usually a medical or psychological cause involved.
The medical reasons will be covered first, since the majority of cases can be traced to that cause, rather than the psychological. It is important that the reasons for such dog behavior be thoroughly checked before any dog training techniques are re-instituted.
Most dog owners know that the aging process of their dog health will manifest itself in a gradual loss of hearing, followed by diminished vision. Squeezed somewhere in between, signs of arthritis might show up, decrease in appetite, more frequent naps and other tell tale signs which may become evident. What is not widely known is that house training problems is one of the first things to happen.
Because this fact is not widely known, it causes frustration and confusion to the dog owner who suddenly thinks that his/her dog has forgotten, is not as smart as previously thought, is lazy, or has turned into a sneak. Such dog behavior on the part of a perfectly house trained dog could simply be the first signs of the inevitable aging process. In this aging process, the muscles of the bladder gradually lose their control.
In the male, the aging process can also cause the prostate gland to enlarge and this will produce an inflammation, which will cause him to urinate often. Kidney disease occurs in about 76% of dogs over eight years of age. When a dog ages, there is a gradual degeneration of kidney tissue, with a weakening of the kidney function.
The older dog should drink at least twice the amount of water than a younger dog, since the older dog’s kidneys will require it. Naturally, this will involve more frequent urination, thus more trips to the bathroom and a more vigilant watch with their house training.
Where the middle-aged dog would have required being let out in the morning and once at night, the aging process will require more freedom outdoors. In most cases, the older dog will try to make its needs known to its owner. However, the owner, who is used to a regular routine, just isn’t tuned in to the dog’s new requirement. Then, the old dog is left with just one alternative. In such cases, shaming and scolding will only make the situation worse, especially if the dog tried to communicate, only to have his communication fall on deaf or inattentive ears.